The invention relates to dental instruments and in particular to dental instruments used for periodontal disease. Specifically, the invention relates to scaler dental instruments that are diamond coated for treating periodontal disease, the instruments being operated by low powered ultrasonic devices.
The use of an ultrasonic generator for operative dentistry has been in use for some time. Some attempts have been made at adapting the ultrasonic generator to periodontal techniques. Such use has increased over the years, however, the developments have only been in improved generators and irrigation techniques and design. There have been no changes in the prior art actual dental instruments that go with ultrasonic device and the irrigation means in more than a quarter of a century.
In the prior art the ultrasonic instruments have been routinely used for scaling, curettage, root planing, and overhang removal. More limited use, in most cases non-use, has been in applications for mucogingival surgery and gingivoplasty.
The present prior art instruments are blunt, dull, and rounded, and merely chip away at the root surface due to the ultrasonic vibrations, a knocking and hammering action, via an elliptical motion at the end of the instrument. This operation has been referred to as scraping the tooth.
There are a variety of interchangeable tip designs for specific applications due to the variegation of tooth form. All such tip designs, however, have a dull rounded edge and no real cutting edges or cutting means affixed to the instrument. Rotary type instruments are not feasible for this work on the root surface and when used on bone have bad deleterious effects as has been shown in microscopic cell studies.
Periodontal disease is a chronic disease that produces deformities with the periodontium (the gum, bone, and root areas). Hyperplasia manifestations and crippling bony defects due to accretions on root surfaces, and infected soft tissue responses to these accretions are aspects of the disease.
Periodontal pockets are spaces bordered on one side by calcified structures of the tooth and root, the lateral side by gingival epithelium covering the alveolar jaw bone.
The basic tenet of periodontal treatment is to smooth and plane the root surface, remove the pocket and contour the bone to physiologic supportive form. The pocket is removed of the infected tissue by curettage of the inner aspect. This all implies a spatial relationship which has a direct bearing on the deformities and requires an instrument to achieve a remodeling, contouring, and cleansing removal of the afflicted area. The prior art instruments have not been capable of performing this special work with the degree of accuracy and improvement that is required for good periodontal treatment.
The present invention has many improved advantages over the prior art instruments. The diamond coated instrument is stronger, due to the diamond coating. The present invented instrument is useable at a lower power setting on the ultrasonic generator, thus causing less vibration. The diamond coated scraper instrument cuts by abrading rather than chipping or dislodgement, which makes patient comfort superior and the dentist's fatigue less. The four embodiments of the dental instrument are each novel and unique in that they have been carefully thought out intellectually in the inventive process to have the right angles and bends and the right configuration for each of the precise periodontal treatment operations that the dentist must perform.
Hand curettage in the prior art left a smoother surface on the root of tooth than present ultrasonic instruments, this is due to chipping and fracturing of the surface. The diamond coated instruments of the present invention alleviate this problem.
Thus, the present invention is more effective, safer, and more economical, and reduces the dentist's armentarium of necessary instruments, because the dental instruments of the present invention are multipurposeful.
The soft tissue side of the periodontal lesion is curetted by the diamond instrument and removes the inflamed, necrotic tissue. In the prior art, the present ultrasonic tips being blunt, dull, and rounded cannot adequately curette soft tissue. This is a unique feature of the present instruments of the invention, the economy of instrumentation is that the diamond coated instruments are multipurpose. They are used for the root surface, soft tissue, and bone and are effective in all those uses. There is, therefore, less fatigue for the operator and for the patient.
In the prior art previous to the present invention, the debrided root materials acted as an abrasive slurry in polishing the root surface. This slurry is usually a bacterial contaminated material and may act to insinuate necrotic material and bacteria into the nicks and grooves on the root surface and in the soft tissue aspect.
With the present invention no slurry is involved as the sharp fine cutting surface of the present invention continually removes the root surface toxins due to the abrasive action of the four embodiments of the present invented tool.
In addition, the prior art slurry method used the slurry to polish the root, a very poor technique. The present invention eliminates this by accomplishing the polishing without the contamination hazard.
The typical infrabony defect, found in such diseased dental problems, is exceptionally well treated by each embodiment of the instrument of the present invention. Such defects lie within the alveolar bone and the epithelial attachment resides within the defect on the cemental/dentin root surface side. The sharp fine cutting surface of the present invention can plane and abrade the cementum/dentin, and curette and contour the gingival tissue and alveolar bone.
The sharp fine cutting surface of the present diamond scaler instrument, under ultrasonic vibration, reduces the physical exertion required with the prior art dull and incorrectly configured instruments, even under ultrasonic operating conditions. Note that the incorrectly configured instruments of the prior art has been and is a major problem in effective periodontal treatment.
The present invention, applied with a very light, feather-like touch, produces faster and more effective results. In addition, there is an increase in patient comfort due to the lighter stroke. The sharp fine cutting surface of the diamond scaler instrument of the present invention is exceptionally efficient against hard tissue surfaces (cementum, dentin and bone). This is particularly true in such dental operations as scaling and root planing procedures as the present invention abrades rather than chipping and knocking when cutting the surface.
The present invention is also useful against the alveolar bone (osteoplasty) to contour and shape as well as to remove necrotic bone (osteectomy). This is all accomplished by the same instrument of the present invention. In the prior art, the dentist switches to a rotary diamond stone bur to accomplish the bony work. Although the rotary procedure produced a reasonably smooth surface cut in the bone, the procedure resulted in a very slow healing rate, actually the slowest healing rate of any tried procedure. The present invention combines the two desirable objectives, a smooth cut and fast healing.
Operator derived motion and force, as with hand instruments, to correct bone and root defects is obviated. The bulkier rotary handpieces cannot be placed by the dentist with the exactitude of the present invention. This is particularly true because of the exact angles, specific bends, and unique and novel configurations of each of the four embodiments, all of which permits the periodontest to perform the dental operations with a scientific exactitude not possible with prior art instruments. Furthermore, the enhanced cutting ability of the present invention allows for precise control of the mechanical energy to the instrument for a precision cut. The diamond particles transmit the ultrasonic wave precisely and repetitively without damage to itself. This does not occur with the usual prior art ultrasonic instrument which begins to pit after limited usage.
The diamond scaler instrument of the present instruments of the invention are capable of removing mineralized tissues with great ease and efficiency. This is a time saver, incorporating all necessary procedures in the four embodiments of the one type of instrument which is not available in the prior art. The full ultrasonic instrument of the prior art is not used for the bony work. Thus, the present invention treats the root surface, the soft tissue, and the bony wall expeditiously and without having to change instruments as in the prior art.
The prior art tips cause excess vibration when used in an ultrasonic operation because of the necessary high power input, thus, heat is generated and patient discomfort increases. The prior art tips also break due to the high power action. The present invention overcomes this.
When using the prior art instruments for a dental treatment where scaling, cleansing and curettage is necessary, it is not unusual to have more than a dozen instruments available for alternate ready use. The present invention of the few instruments illustrated provides a capability for all these operations in accomplishing the task. As noted hereinbefore, the prior art instrumentation for ultrasonic use does an unsatisfactory job at root planing, even poorer than hand instruments, removes less calculus than hand instruments. When the prior art instruments are used with greater force to compensate for the deficiencies, damaged root surfaces occur.
The prior art rotary instruments mentioned hereinbefore often shred the soft tissue, requiring surgical scissors to trim the damaged tissue. The present invention overcomes this problem. There isn't any tactile sense present with rotary instruments. Neither is there a good tactile sense of "feel" with a dull ultrasonic instrument or even with a sharp tipped hand instrument. As a result, the ability to remove all accretions and necrotic epithelium is usually not achieved by the prior art ultrasonic instrumentation or by hand instruments. Such deficiencies in the prior art often require a second reentry.
Other areas in the prior art, in which the present invention does a precise and controllable job, are restorations and overhangs and stain removal on teeth. In the case of the restorations and overhangs, the rotary and prior art ultrasonic instruments nick, gouge and chip, thus producing concavities and irregular surfaces.
Thus, the improvements provided in the present invention are a combination of the diamond coated surfaces, the specifically defined angles and defined bends, and the unique and novel configuration presented by these angles and bends to reach specific locations or positions and unique and novel configuration of the operating end of each of the four embodiments of the invention.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a plurality of diamond coated scaler dental instruments for ultrasonic operation.
It is also an object of this invention to provide diamond coated scaler dental instruments that can be used at a lower power ultrasonic input.
It is another object of this invention to provide diamond coated scaler dental instruments which are all purposeful to reduce the number of dental instruments required to perform dental operations.
It is still another object of this invention to provide diamond coated scaler dental instruments to reduce patient discomfort and operator fatigue.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide diamond coated scaler dental instruments that leave a smooth surface on the tooth structure without chipping, gouging, or fracturing.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide diamond coated scaler dental instruments that may be used on tooth structures, bones, and soft tissue of the mouth.
It is also still another object of this invention to provide diamond coated scaler instruments that each have a unique and novel combination of angles, bends, and shapes so that each forms a configuration particularly adapted to a specific periodontal operation treatment.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent in light of the following description of the preferred embodiments.